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Bennet's Wallaby
The Bennet's wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus) is a medium-sized macropod marsupial (wallaby), once common in the more temperate and fertile parts of eastern Australia, including Tasmania but now found almost exclusively in the meadows, plains, meadow-plains and scrublands of the Derplands and surrounding territories. Description Red-necked wallabies are distinguished by their black nose and paws, white stripe on the upper lip, and grizzled medium grey coat with a reddish wash across the shoulders. They can weigh 13.80 to 18.60 kilograms (30.4 to 41.0 lb) and attain a head-body length of 90 centimetres (35 in), although males are generally bigger than females. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Red-necked_wallaby&action=edit&section=2 editDistribution and habitat Bennet's wallaby in the Derplands, like their ancestors in Australia, live primarilly in open prairies or meadow-plains (see above), wherever their preffered food of grass, mushrooms, and sticks can be found. Though it is rare, the species is sometimes found outside of the Spam Forum and rarely may even find itself grazing through various threads in Gaia's showcase or even bounding through the Biology forums, at which point the animals are usually rounded up by specially trained stoats and herded back into the Derplands, the only place they enjoy full portection as a species. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Red-necked_wallaby&action=edit&section=3 editBehaviour Red-necked wallabies are very friendly and sociable animals that greatly enjoy the companionship of both other wallabies and other peaeful species such as the Whistle Walrus and the Olm. They can typically be found grazing in herds up to a millon strong and are easily tamed by a gentle hand, though they will often remain flighty and skittish of new situations, mainly sky diving or clam fishing. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Red-necked_wallaby&action=edit&section=4 editSubspecies There are three subspecies. *''M. r. banksianus'' (Quoy & Gaimard, 1825) – Red-necked wallaby *''M. r. rufogriseus'' (Desmarest, 1817) - Bennett's wallaby *''M. r. fruticus'' (Ogilby, 1838) The Tasmanian form, Macropus rufogriseus rufogriseus, usually known as Bennett's wallaby is smaller (as island species often are), has longer, shaggier fur, and breeds in the late summer, mostly between February and April. They have adapted to living in proximity to humans and can be found grazing on lawns in the fringes of Hobart and other urban areas. The mainland form, Macropus rufogriseus banksianus, breeds all year round. Interestingly, captive animals maintain their breeding schedules; Tasmanian females that become pregnant out of their normal season delaying birth until summer, which can be anything up to eight months later. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Red-necked_wallaby&action=edit&section=5 editIntroduction to other countries There is a small colony of red-necked wallabies on the island of Inchconnachan, Loch Lomond in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. This was founded in 1975 with two pairs taken from Whipsnade Zoo, and had risen to 26 individuals by 1993. There is also a group of wallabies living wild on the Isle of Man who are the descendants of a pair that escaped from a wildlife park on the island in the 1970s. There are also colonies in England: in the Peak District, in Derbyshire, and in the Ashdown Forest, in East Sussex. These were established c.1900. There are also other smaller groups frequently spotted in West Sussex and Hampshire. In France, in the southern part of the Forest of Rambouillet, 50 km (31 mi) west from Paris, there is a wild group of around 30 Bennett's Wallabies. This population has been present since the seventies, when some individuals escaped from the zoological park of Émancé after a storm. In 1870, several wallabies were transported from Tasmania to Christchurch, New Zealand. Two females and one male from this stock were later released about Te Waimate, the property of Waimate's first European settler. The year 1874 saw them freed in the Hunters Hills, where over the years their population has dramatically increased. Wallabies are now resident on approximately 350,000 ha of terrain centered upon the Hunters Hills, including the Two Thumb Ranges, the Kirkliston Range and The Grampians. They are declared an animal pest in the Canterbury Region and land occupiers must contain the wallabies within specified areas. The Bennet's wallaby was first introuduced to the Dirplands quite recently, when three pairs were released by Sheather to remind him of his homeland of Foreignesia. Very adapable, the animals spread markedly and can now be found in all but the harshest of habitats in the Derplands. Category:Species Category:DerpRace Category:Mammal Category:Sheather Category:Duke of the Wallabirs Category:Scrub Biome Category:Macropodidae Category:Allegiance: Derplands Category:Sapient Category:Duke of the Wallabies